Holding the Door Open for Creativity
We might not be able to take a month long retreat, but we can seed and grow moments of creativity every day
When I was new to mothering, and my son wasn’t yet a year old, I could gauge my tiredness by the length of time I added to the sentence, “I need a silent retreat.”
Sometimes it was, “I need a month long silent retreat.”
Other times, “I need a week long silent retreat.”
No matter that I’d never been on a silent retreat. It was simply a matter of exhaustion and what I yearned for: all that time and space and quiet. Uninterrupted sleep and no one needing my body.
I never took a silent retreat.
It never really seemed possible. Between a baby and a farm, where was the time? But this summer that baby will turn 11 and when I look back I can see how I carved pockets of time for myself in early mornings, on solo walks, at cafes on weekend mornings, and eventually even a night or two away. Even when I was blissfully alone, I didn’t make it to those quiet hours on my own.
We all need people who will hold the door open for our creativity.
Sometimes I think of people as plants, how, like polyculture and companion planting, we’re able to thrive because of the networks that grow around us.
Like my mom, who’d occasionally send me $25 and a note to take myself to a cafe and spend the money only on myself.
Like my cousin’s mother-in-law, who offered her home to me when she was out of town, so I could have mini-retreats for free.
Like Edge, who holds the space in many constant and evolving ways.
Which is why, as much as I love solo time, I also love gathering in community.
This is what I offer you in Harvesting Words, a writing workshop for farmers and gardeners.
A virtual gathering space to be in a creative community. Where you’ll find guidance and structure, but also space to explore and set your own rhythms.
We begin on Friday, and it’s open to all paid subscribers of Art & Soil.
If you’re already a paid subscriber – hooray!
If you’re not, you can access Harvesting Words by becoming a paid subscriber for either $7/month or $70/year.
Throughout the workshop I’ll guide you through four sections:
Plant Seeds : sowing your writing practice
Cultivate : growing your writing practice
Harvest : revising & getting to the finished piece
Workshop : ask questions & get feedback on your writing
Drawing on my own experience of trying to find time to write, Harvesting Words is designed with farmers and parents in mind. You don’t need to find hours every day – instead, I’ll encourage you to grow your writing practice like you sow seeds: in small, steady moments that can eventually grow into a body of work.
If you feel stories inside you that want to sprout, or if you’re simply curious about exploring your own creativity, I hope you’ll join us.
And if you know someone who may be interested, share this with them. Maybe you’re the one who holds open the door for creativity.